Monterey Trail High School didn’t win the game. In fact, they lost by 23 points.
But the final score, a 48-25 win by Laguna Creek in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs, was not indicative of the actual closeness of Monterey Trail’s first-ever postseason appearance.
Sure, the loss dropped them to 3-8 overall this season. And sure, the three teams they beat had a combined 6-24 record.
Regardless, through 48 minutes at Elk Grove-Laguna Creek Community Stadium, Monterey Trail displayed why they deserved the Delta River League’s third seed, a spot they clinched in the final week of the regular season with a 32-24 win over Florin and losses by Jesuit and Sheldon.
“Our kids’ goals were to play in the playoffs, we wanted to play this week,” said Monterey Trail head coach T.J. Ewing, who guided the varsity team to a school-best 5-5 record in 2007. “They wanted to do that. They accomplished that.”
Once the Division I brackets were released a day after the season finales, criticism immediately ensued about the system’s flaws when a team with only three wins reaches the eight-team North field.
To that, Ewing is among the biggest advocates of the section switching to a power ratings format. He also acknowledged he preferred to obviously wait until next season, otherwise Monterey Trail would not have qualified for the playoffs.
To no fault of their own, Monterey Trail won the necessary games to be assured of the league’s third and final spot. That didn’t stop the unfair criticism.
Ewing said he didn’t approach the playoff game as a chance to prove the doubters wrong.
“We believed in our kids,” he said. “We left like if we could play like a team we could beat anybody.
“But that’s a talented team over there,” Ewing added, referring to Laguna Creek. “They have a lot of Division I players on that roster. If you look at that game, they had seniors making all their plays. That’s what it takes. We don’t have those seniors.”
Despite a 23-point differential, Monterey Trail was virtually even in nearly every statistical category. First downs: MT-18, LC-19; rushing yards: MT-300, LC-294; total yards: MT-395, LC-437; penalties/yards: MT-7/39, LC-12/141; and time of possession: MT-26:53, LC-21:07.
Monterey Trail was the first team to rush for 300 yards and scored the second-highest points against Laguna Creek.
In the first half, Monterey Trail outgained Laguna Creek by 87 yards (287-200) and had the time-of-possession advantage by nearly 10 minutes (17:06-6:54), yet they still trailed 21-19 at the half.
“We were in a position to make plays, we just didn’t make them,” said Ewing. “We were right there.”
Monterey Trail had two costly second-half gaffes that changed the entire complexion of the game. First, Ewing tried to catch Laguna Creek with a fake punt for the second time.
The second try was not nearly as successful as the initial attempt, when Mannie Acierto ran for 18 yards on fourth-and-12 and Sedale Hunter capped that 19-play, 90-yard drive in 9:55 with a one-yard touchdown run.
Acierto was stopped for a two-yard gain on the second fake punt, turning the ball over to Laguna Creek at the Monterey Trail 35-yard line. Quarterback Chris Jackson scored on the ensuing drive to turn a one-possession game into a 34-19 lead.
In hindsight, Ewing said it was a bad decision on his part.
“You say we should punt and I probably should have,” he admitted. “That was my mistake. I was just trying to create some enthusiasm. Sometimes we try to create enthusiasm for the players. We really didn’t run with enthusiasm (on that play).”
Monterey Trail, which had minus-2 yards of total offense on its first two second-half drives, closed its deficit to 41-25 on Hunter’s nine-yard run late in the third quarter. That glimmer of hope disappeared when the second mistake ended any possible comeback.
After a 27-yard run by Hunter to midfield, Monterey Trail veered from its run-first offense to an uncharacteristic drop-back pass.
Acierto’s lob over the middle was thrown behind the receiver and intercepted by Anthony Boyce, who returned it for a touchdown only to have the return called back for an illegal block in the back.
Undaunted, Jackson capitalized on the drive when he converted his sixth touchdown of the game, a 15-yard pass to Nick Laswell.
“I know what their record says, but over the course of the season they got better and better,” said Laguna Creek head coach Mark Nill of Monterey Trail.
Laguna Creek used a short field for most of the second half. They recovered the third-quarter kickoff at Monterey Trail’s 48, and then started their second possession at the 35 after the failed fake punt.
Monterey Trail recovered from a shaky beginning after fumbling the opening kickoff. Four plays later, they recovered a fumble on a lateral pass and then scored two plays on the ensuing drive on James Peterson’s 85-yard touchdown – the first in Monterey Trail playoff history.
Even so, the mistakes and inexperience overshadowed a seemingly fearless first-ever postseason trip.
Monterey Trail committed five turnovers – three fumbles and two interceptions – while Laguna Creek had just one.
“They run that veer offense that is tough to defend,” said Nill. “You stop them and stop them and then they bust one.”
Monterey Trail should be even better next season.
With only three starters graduating and merely four that received extended minutes this season, Monterey Trail’s postseason experience will only benefit the returning players for 2009.
